As graduation and deployment approach, Kiera Connerty comforts her family — and herself — by talking about the training she has received at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

"We're getting to the point of talking about what could happen," says Connerty, 21, of Maplewood, N.J. "We hear about people who just graduated and are in Iraq. Or when they announce in mess hall about our former classmates who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now that it's starting to be more of a reality, you start talking about it a little bit more.

"We just have to go in there with confidence that what we've learned is going to save our lives someday."

Mary Ellen Connerty, 50, says it helps to know that her daughter is well-trained, but she still worries. "The reality is that she'll be somewhere volatile," she says. "You can't dwell on it. You'd drive yourself and her crazy."

Connerty plans to train to be a helicopter pilot. She's interested in flying a Black Hawk or Chinook, aircraft that carry soldiers into combat. Ultimately, she'd like to be an astronaut and will apply to NASA's candidate school.

Connerty says she had wanted to attend the academy even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and now she feels fortunate to be able to give something back to her country.

She also expresses dismay at media depictions of the war in Iraq.

"We hear about good things that the media don't portray," she says. "The soldiers we talk to still feel they're there for a good reason."

Meanwhile, her mother looks forward to her graduation with a mix of pride and worry.

"You have to remember: She's not just my daughter; she's my best friend," Mary Ellen Connerty says. "My concerns don't extend just to Kiera. I think about all the Kieras, the sons and daughters. I worry for all of them."